Red Shiso
Perilla frutescens • Open-Pollinated
Do you see why I love these leaves so much?
JOY MAX SCALE ✦✦✦✦✧
Remarkable foliage. Unusual flavor. This mint cousin is a must for Japanese cooking. I’m obsessed with it as a bouquet filler and it also has a ton of medicinal uses, including preventing food poisoning!
✦ Shiso leaves have the tangy flavor of cumin, mint, nutmeg, and anise combined.
✦ It’s often used in Asian cooking, sushi, and salad mix. Red shiso adds brilliant color to radish pickles and umeboshi plums. There are two main types: green and red. Green shiso can be added to salads and is used wrapped in sushi or chopped into hot and cold noodle dishes. Red shiso is a bit more bitter flavored; it’s used in cooked dishes and pickling.
✦ Its color and texture looks gorgeous in the garden. The leaves look incredible in bouquets, especially with delicate cosmos. At the end of the summer, the blooms are very pretty as well and attract bees.
✦ Shiso is native to the lower, lusher slopes of the Himalayas, to China, and other parts of southeast Asia. It became popular in Japan in the eighth century and since then, it's been a constant companion to fish and other perishable meats—and not only because of its flavoring. It's long been known to fend off food poisoning and fresh fish needed help before refrigeration came along.
✧ For best germination, seed should be stored in freezer until planted. Soak seeds for 24 hours before planting.
✧ DO NOT GROW NEAR GRAZING ANIMALS. Potentially toxic to goats and horses.
How to Grow Shiso
Direct seed (recommended): Store seed in the freezer for best germination. To improve germination, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours before sowing, and then sow the seeds outdoors right in your garden or raised bed. Dappled light is perfect in hot climates. Full sun if you live somewhere cooler. It isn’t fussy about soil. Sow in spring after the last frost, 1-2 seeds per inch, in rows 18" apart. Sow seeds shallowly or cover lightly, as light is required for germination. Can grow somewhat thickly, or thin to 6-12" apart. Once established, shiso is fairly drought tolerant. Water whenever it looks thirsty and starts to droop.
As our beloved JVN would say, “Isn’t she gorge?”
Tips for Growing Shiso
For our hot summers in Austin, dappled shade is ideal for shiso.
You can scatter these seeds over a small area and then just sprinkle vermiculite or over them. This will keep moisture on the surface to improve germination.
Leaves may be harvested for fresh use once the plants have become established. Start harvesting leaves after the plant is 8 inches tall or taller.
If you are eating it, treat it like a basil and pinch it back regularly to keep the plants bushy and compact. If you aren’t eating it, you can let it grow however you like for arrangements. Don't let the buds go to waste; they're delicious roasted and used as a garnish over seafood!
Shiso readily self-seeds. Let the plant flower and save seeds after flowers dry in autumn. Once the flowers have turned brown and dry, carefully bring them indoors and shake them over a plate to collect the seeds for sowing the following spring.
Companion Planting
Shiso is in the mint family and will spread similarly via rhizomes. It is not nearly as cold hardy though, so you don’t have to worry it will take over a bed like mint will except for reseeding. There aren’t any known bad pairings with shiso I can find, so grow it somewhere it can be seen and enjoyed.